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Beast
<--- back to Seemings Description Beasts believe that they have taken the most difficult road back through the Hedge, for they have had to claw back their minds as well as their souls. For a Beast to return, he has to turn his back on the lush sensory life of the animal, and think, if only long enough to burrow, chew and wriggle through the thorny barrier and back to the human realm. No matter what animal he holds an affinity with, a Beast lives in a state of paradox, a conscious, moral person infused with the unconscious, amoral power of the animal kingdom. A Beast's behavior and the place she creates for herself in the world depends a great deal on the kind of animal she reflects. Some stand apart from human society. Some throw themselves into the human world, revealing the wildness and the world of sensation at the heart of human interaction. Some express their connection to the world of sensation in their own, uniquely primal ways. Of all the changelings, the Beasts are the most difficult to categorize. They're as varied in form and behavior as the animals whose essence they share. All of them, however, exist as interstitial figures, living on a threshold between human and animal, civilization and wilderness. Appearance A Beast always has some feature belonging to the animal she reflects. It's important to note that the Beast reflects the idea of the animal rather than the animal itself. She might reflect more than one animal. She might reflect (like the archetypal Beast from the folk-tale) a category of animals that don't even exist. They're always very physical and solid, whatever form they take, and many Beasts have a strong odor of some kind. Contracts Beasts gain an affinity with the Fang and Talon Contracts, allowing them to take on qualities of animals. They can also specialize in Den Contracts, which grant them a special connection to their territory. Kiths :*Broadback: Changelings who are attuned to animals that are renowned for their endurance or stubborness, such as camels, elephants, horses, mules, goats and the like. :*Cleareyes: Changelings attuned to creatures known for keen senses. :*''Coldscales'': Emotionless Changelings with an affinity for reptiles. :*Hunterheart: Often, but not always, those changelings who have something of the predator about them: wolves, bears, cats, crocodiles, snakes, and birds of prey, but also those who embody the hunter in a more conceptual sense. :*''Rot Eaters'': Changelings who feed off of garbage and other products of decay. :*''Riddleseeker'': Changelings who are noted for especial wisdom or cunning :*Runnerswift: Changelings who move like the wind, reflecting hares, rabbits, antelopes and the like. :*''Skitterskulk'': Changelings who have an affinity with flies, spiders, beetles, centipedes, and other creepy crawlies. :*''Steepscrambler'': Changeling who are at home in high places, and who are attuned to such animals as monkeys, raccoons, squirrels, some insects and some lizards. :*''Swimmerskin'': Changelings who draw affinities with aquatic or amphibious creatures: seals, otters, ducks, salmon, and the like; this kith also includes such fantastic life-forms as merfolk, kelpies and so on. :*True Friends: Changelings with an affinity to animals kept as pets. :*''Venombite'': Changelings who have an affinity with poisonous creatures, such as spiders and insects or certain reptiles. :*''Windwing'': Changelings who are not confined to the earth, with their hearts in the skies, drawing affinity with birds, butterflies and bats. See Also For a List of Beasts see Beast. Category:Seeming